A Little Bit of Snow!

This winter marks the THIRD one in a row that we haven't had a decent snow storm in our town to shut down school and give the kids a chance to play outside for a few days.  This has been a major bummer for all of us as we LOVE having a few snow days and the chance to play in the snow.  However, the strangest thing happened today as it started snowing about the time that Ella, Emmett, and I drove to school at 9 a.m.  Big snowflakes continued to fall from the sky all morning long and into the early afternoon, but sadly, it never stuck to the ground.  Since it was a half day, Logan was able to go over to one of his friend's house to play after school while I continued to sub at the elementary school for two more hours until our school got out.  After dropping Ella and Emmett off at the house, I drove over to Jonah's house to pick up Logan at 2:30.  Since Jonah's house is on top of a hill, I was so surprised to see that the snow was sticking where he lives!  By the time I pulled up into his driveway, Jonah's yard looked like a little winter wonderland.  When I went to the front door, I learned from the mom that the boys had built snowman in the yard (in their school clothes) before going in the hot tub.  This was the hilarious picture that I got from Jonah's mom after we got back home.  And although Ella and Emmett didn't get the chance to play in any snow since there was none in our yard, I am grateful that at least one of our children got to enjoy the snowstorm today!

Lia's Winter Choir Concert

I went to Lia's school last night to watch her sing in her second to last high school choir concert.  She graduates in a little over three months, so things are starting to feel real as she wraps up her high school experience.  I managed to find a seat with another mom friend and enjoyed watching Lia sing with both Vocal Ensemble and Concert Choir.  The girls in Vocal Ensemble sang, "Song of Miriam," at the beginning of the concert which set the tone for the rest of the evening.  After the boys in Vocal Ensemble sang a song, the choir then performed, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," and "The Parting Glass."  After hearing the other choirs sing, Lia returned to the bleachers to sing with Concert Choir.  All four numbers were really beautiful and classical in nature.  I thought about how much my dad would have loved to hear this music at this concert.  I am so grateful that Lia is having such wonderful experiences this year singing in both of these choirs.

Lia and some of the other girls singing the first song together.

Another close-up of Lia as she sang "Ain't No Mountain High Enough."

Lia singing in the Alto section of Concert Choir.

After the concert, Lia and her friend, Hillary, posed with the choir teacher, Mr. Wisness, who is a bit a legend at their high school.  Hillary is Lia's one friend from her school who is going to BYU with her in the fall.  They will be living in neighboring dorms next year.

Lia and "Wis."

Emmett's Last Basketball Game of the Season

After three months of practices and games, Emmett wrapped up his second basketball season today with his final game.  Overall, Emmett has really enjoyed playing basketball during 1st grade year.  He was placed on the same team with a few boys from his school and was lucky to have a dad volunteer to be the coach who was really good at working with these young boys.  Besides missing one game due to the flu and a second game due to being in Portland for Ella's gymnastics meet, Emmett played in the other six games of the season.  He made baskets in every game except for one.  I know that I have said this before, but he is just so athletic at any sport he tries and dribbles, passes, and shoots with such ease compared to other players.  He made three baskets in his last game today and was so excited to get his trophy and a basketball-themed cupcake after it was over!

Emmett dribbling down the court.

Guarding his opponent.

Dribbling out of the key.

Running down the court.

Another action shot of Emmett dribbling.

The picture I managed to take of Emmett making one of his three baskets!

A happy Emmett smiling at me during one of the breaks in the game.

The coach talking to Emmett and some of the other players before returning to the game.

Emmett receiving his trophy from Coach Jake.

One last final team cheer!

Emmett with the rest of his Lakers team.

Emmett holding his trophy and cupcake after the game was over.